Senior Global Operations Associate

The opportunity: The role of the Global Operations Senior Associate is a critical part of making Flexport’s mission to make global trade easy for everyone a reality. Flexport today connects almost 10,000 clients and suppliers across 109 countries. In this role, your direct customers are the partners within your region: our account management and customs teams, subcontractors, carriers, terminals and trucking providers. Your work directly supports Flexport’s end customers in achieving their logistics goals. Most importantly, you will play a pivotal role in building the next operational model at Flexport: allowing us to effectively scale to achieve our mission of making global trade easier for everyone. This role is designed to build your leadership capabilities within a global operations team moving shipments. As the resident expert on the intricate world of the logistics industry, you will take on a player-coach role in the mentoring and development of your team, leading them to uphold performance standards and guiding them to solve complex issues for clients and vendors. You will drive your team to build and implement scalable processes and tools, in alignment with your global counterparts and internal stakeholders.   As the person who mentors the team managing movement in your region, you have the unique opportunity to work with your regional account team to improve and grow our customers’ business.  Tactical Responsibilities: Within the FlexGO (Flexport Global Operations) team, you are an expert in executing the end-to-end movement of shipments within Ocean FCL imports and/or exports. You will be responsible for coaching and supporting the development of a 3-6 person team in the end-to-end movement of ocean freight shipments within a regional network, including intermodal movements. You will use metrics to guide your regional team to improve and deliver great performance, including data quality and shipment milestone timeliness. You will oversee internal KPIs and SLAs that demonstrate quality service delivery. You will personally represent Flexport’s value proposition by leading business implementation and shipment execution for new clients and opportunities. You will oversee the “front line” in ensuring the highest standard of Flexport quality: shipments move “on-time” and exceptions are handled appropriately. You will build scalable operational infrastructure and procedures to ensure they are delivering the highest levels of efficiency and productivity for your customers. If they are not, you will look for opportunities to improve them. In the ocean team you will: Seamlessly coordinate day-to-day logistics operations with internal and external partners such as steamship lines, air carriers, intermodal and drayage vendors, customs, trade lane management, and warehouses. You will act as the primary point of contact for internal and external escalations. Adaptive Responsibilities: You will analyze data to rate vendor (e.g. carrier, trucker) performance and inform performance management initiatives. You will help design, build and implement operational infrastructure and procedures in the day-to-day workflow, while constantly identifying and executing on opportunities to realize optimal efficiency and productivity. You will empower Account Management by leading feedback loops to ensure client needs are met. You will use metrics to spot opportunities to improve and deliver great performance in the team you mentor, including data quality and shipment milestone timeliness. You will act as a consultant to your regional team, product & engineering and the operations excellence team on ocean supply chain operations. What you will need: Experience: A successfully completed apprenticeship as Management Assistant for Freight Forwarding and Logistics services (In German: Kaufmann / Kauffrau für Spedition und Logistikdienstleistung) or a BA/BS degree in logistics  Minimum 2-4 years of experience in logistics, freight forwarding, supply chain, or ocean carrier operations Mindset : We’re looking for colleagues that have: A desire to “build a better machine” and get irritated when things that aren’t optimal Demonstrated ability to coach small teams in day-to-day execution Hands-on, process-oriented, structured thinking with strong problem-solving capabilities  Strategic vision and ground floor execution Excitement to manage vendor relations and create best-in-class, innovative structures to do so Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills A client service mindset; you are obsessed with client and team happiness Courage to challenge the status quo when logic and reason require it. See something broken? Fix it! Skills: Designing and optimizing processes Building feedback loops for a product or service Problem Solving: Building consensus among people with differing opinions Managing time and commitments Framing problems and generating ideas through data Investigating and troubleshooting the customer’s problem Execute complex processes without missing adaptive opportunities Applying policy, process, and best practices English and German at the business level What can you learn: You will gain the skills necessary to lead a team of increasing scale and function. You will learn how to be a player-coach who apprentices team members on skill development. You will learn what it takes to effectively manage vendors: holding them accountable while also creating win-win opportunities. You will learn how to thrive in an ambiguous environment, research and implement operational hypotheses and inform the strategy of a newly built team. You will gain the ability to continuously improve the client experience through a deep industry understanding. You are singularly positioned to realize how we can both work within and push the ocean industry forward to meet the standards of Flexport’s client-centric service. What else:  You will work in a beautiful office in the city center of Hamburg with a modern office equipment and a first class connection to the public transport system of Hamburg You will work in a fast growing and changing environment with a high motivated team, which is always open to hear your ideas We are a family-friendly company and offer flexible working-hours and the option to work around 60% from home We invest in your personal and professional development by offering you internal and external trainings During regular team events you can have a lot of fun with your teammates and connect with them besides of your working day We have a football table and different gaming consoles in the office and on top free drinks, snacks and lunch About Flexport:  At Flexport, we believe global trade can move the human race forward. That’s why it’s our mission to make it easy and accessible for everyone. We’re shaping the future of a $8.6T industry with solutions powered by innovative technology and exceptional people. Today, companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $19B of merchandise across 112 countries a year.  The recent global supply chain crisis has put Flexport center stage as we continue to play a pivotal role in how goods move around the world. At a valuation of $8 billion, we’re experiencing record growth and are proud to have the support of the best investors in the game who believe in our mission, solutions and people. Ready to tackle global challenges that impact business, society, and the environment? Come join us.